WINNERS

Kasey Kahne — The very best drivers win at Bristol. Kahne entered that category Sunday. He had a great car and drove a great race for his 15th career victory. After two strong races in a row, you get the feeling more wins are coming.

Kyle Busch — He had the dominant car early but once again made a critical mistake. A speeding penalty and pit strategy foiled him but he made a great comeback to finish second.

Brad Keselowski — He proved Sunday why he is drawing comparisons to such Bristol greats as Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace. Though he didn’t have the fastest car, he nearly stole the race with some incredible driving. His late-race battles with Kahne and Busch were simply spectacular and proved that drivers can produce a thrilling race with NASCAR’s new car.

Kurt Busch — He’s not with an elite team anymore, but Busch proved he still can race with the best of them at Bristol. After racing the leaders early, he rallied from a loose wheel to finish fourth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. — He didn’t lead a lap and never challenged the leaders but he scrapped for another top-10 finish to climb to second in the standings with four top-10s. That’s becoming a routine day for Junior.

Jamie McMurray — He wrecked early, spoiling a good starting spot and damaging a fast car. But he rallied to finish 10th in one of the best races in a while for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

LOSERS

Denny Hamlin — He went from leading the most laps (117) to slamming the wall multiple times with a tire problem at the end of the race. He lost two laps while limping around the track at the finish and then had to deal with Joey Logano, who was looking for a piece of him to settle an on-track dispute.

Joey Logano — Logano had a fast car and was battling for the lead when Hamlin got into him, sending him for a spin. You can’t blame him for being angry and lashing out after the race. That’s what you do at Bristol, right? And now he has a brewing feud with his former teammate that could last for a while. Hamlin won’t take kindly to Logano calling him out and sarcastically labeling him “a genius.”

Denny Hamlin — Not only does he have another driver targeting him now, but Hamlin saw a potential victory slip away. He led a race-high 117 laps but couldn’t get back to the front after wrecking Logano and a late tire problem sent him into the wall multiple times during the final laps. His 23rd-place finish was not indicative of how well he ran.

Matt Kenseth — He had one of the cars to beat before Jeff Gordon wrecked in front of him. Kenseth could have won his second race in a row before Gordon’s tire blew and Kenseth slammed into him.

Jeff Gordon — Gordon gambled on tires and pit strategy to get to the front, but he looked fast enough to stay there — until a flat tire sent him into the wall. Not only did he slam the wall, but Kenseth hit him so hard that it jacked his car up off the ground. Gordon felt bad for letting a potential win get away, but also for ruining Kenseth’s day.

Jimmie Johnson — Like Gordon, Johnson also was running well and was in contention until a tire problem sent him into the wall. It led to a 22nd-place finish that cost him the points lead.

Danica Patrick — Patrick did a good job staying out of the way of the leaders, but that’s about the only positive thing you can say about a third straight disappointing run. She started 41st, got lapped early and wound up finishing 28th, five laps off the pace.

Tony Stewart — Stewart never got a chance to get going, a blown tire sending him into the wall on Lap 9. Stewart limped around the track the rest of the day, finishing 31st.